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AlexHixson
ProfessorGregLewis
History1500
30November2014
SynthesisEssay:WomeninAztecandAksumSociety
ThepreviousessayexaminedgenderrolesinHanandHarappansocietyinordertoshed
lightonhumandevelopment.Ashumanitytransitionedfromhuntergatheringtoasettled
lifestylemarkedbynormativesocialroles,hierarchy,andorganizedlabor,itbegantofavorthe
male.Thispaper,ratherthancomparingandcontrastingtheroleofthefemaleintwodisparate
societieseachrepresentativeoftwodifferenttimeperiods,insteadexaminestheroleandviewof
thefemaleintwosimilarsocietieseachlocatedattwooppositeendsoftheearth.Indeed,by
analyzingtherigorouslypatriarchalgenderrelationsinAztecandAksumsociety,onegains
insightintohow,regardlessofgeographicallocationandinfluencefromotherpeoples,humanity
woulddevelopsimilarlyahemisphereapart.
LocatedinCentralMexico,theAztecthrivedfrom1428to1521,aresultofconquestby
theMexicapeopleoftheearlierToltecpeoples.Afternearly100yearsofsophisticatedrule,the
Aztecwoulddeclinethankstooverextension,aflawedtributesystemandconquestbythe
Spanish(Lockard317).
Althoughmanytextbookauthorsandresearchersseemtodisagreeaboutthespecificsof
howtheAztecsorganizedtheirsocietyandviewedwomen,theAztecdividedsocietyalongthe
linesofarigidpatriarchyassanctionedbyamasculineideology.AccordingtoLockard,males
andfemalesledverydifferentlives:Menservedthestateandwerebroughtupassuchwhile


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womenwerestrictlyresponsibleforchildbearingandweavingyoungboyswenttoschoolto
learnreligion,history,rhetoric,[and]girlsweretaughtdomesticskillsandreligionasthey
preparedformarriageataround16.Lockardwouldthenqualifythestatementbyassertingthat
womenoflowerclasseswerefreertoleavethehouseandpursuecareerssuchasstreetvendors
andmidwives(Lockard319),adescriptionthatmirrorshisdiscussionofHangenderroles.
Bullietnotonlyqualifiesthestatementbutmakesdoingsohismajorpoint:Womenheld
substantialpowerandexercisedbroadinfluenceinAztecsocietydominatedthehouseholdand
themarketsservedasteachersandpriestesses[and]werealsoseenasthefoundersof
lineages,includingtheroyalline(Bulliet318).Oneresearcherfoundthatnumerous
archaeologicalexamplespointoutexceptionstoanddeviationsfromagenderbasednorm,
suggestingthatthebinarybasisofthesexualdivisiondoesnotnecessarilyreflectaccurately
Aztecsocietyandthatotheridentitiesoftentookprecedenceovergenderintheenactmentand
experienceofMesoamericansociallife(Stockett571).Bentley,incontrast,assertsthatthe
womanhadlittleornoroleotherthantoprocreateandobeythepatriarch.Heexplainsthis
trend,asdoesBullietandLockard,bytheintenselymasculineculturethatcomeswithan
ideologythatfavorswarfareandsacrifice(Bentley483).Regardless,thereseemstobea
consensusthatsocialrolesfavoredthemaleinsomeform.
Aksumsociety,initiallyanextensionofKushansociety,wasestablished,accordingto
legend,byMenelik,thesonofQueenMakedaandtheHebrewKingSolomon,around400BCE.
AksumwouldthrivedirectlyacrossfromthesoutherntipoftheArabianpeninsula,wherethe
semiticpeoplesofYemenwouldflourishandinfluenceAksumsocietyprofoundly.Around400
CE,adroughtwouldseverelyweakenAksumandthenafter400yearsofgradualdecline,


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Aksumsocietywouldfinallycollapseby800CE.Leftbehind,however,wouldbeadistinctive
blendofCopticandHebrewfaithsthatwouldenduretothepresent(Lockard210).
Initially,Ethiopiansocietiesfavoredthefemale,butasChristianitywouldspreadthrough
NortheastAfrica,societywoulddevelopalongthelinesofarigidpatriarchy.Priortosemitic
influencefromYemen,EthiopiawasEgyptianinnatureandthereforeplacedthewomanhigher
ideologicallyandsocially.Indeed,thefoundingofAksumideology
wasattributedtoamythical
QueenofShebawhosymbolizestheroleandperceptionofwomenattheperiodofthe
introductionofChristianity(Negash1).However,inconstructinganationstate,Aksumsociety
wouldusetheBible,aprofoundlymasculinetext.Assuch,Aksumsocietywasdominatedby
kingswhohadapaternalisticattitudetowardtheirpeople(Lockard209).Onesixthcentury
Byzantinewrotethatthekingworeagoldencollar...stoodonafourwheeledchariotdrawnby
fourelephants...coveredwithgoldplates[and]stoodupcarryingasmallgildedshield(210).
Withoutadoubt,thislavishpatriarchyarosedirectlywiththeriseofChristianity:"The
ChristianizationofEthiopiaismostlytoldasamalestoryMalebiasandtheentrenched
hegemonyofpatriarchalvalueshavenodoubtledtoasuppressionoftherolethatwomenplayed
inEthiopiancivilisation"(Negash6).
Irrespectiveofgeographyandinfluencefromotherpeoples,AmericanandNortheast
Africansocietieswoulddevelopsimilarly.AswasthecaseforAksum,
beforeToltecandAztec
rulewerestateless,matrilinealhuntergathererswhoveneratedthefemaleforherlifegiving
properties(Lockard13).However,ashumanssettledanddevelopedvariousstatesaroundbodies
ofwaterinCentralMexico,astrictlydividedpatriarchywouldformwhichtheMexicapeople
wouldcontinueinestablishingtheirempire.Ethiopiansociety,likewise,wouldmakethesame


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transition:influencefromChristianandSemiticfaithsfromneighboringpeopleswouldfostera
societymarkedbyornatepatriarchyandagradualdeclineoftheroleofthefemale.Humanity,
therefore,seemstodevelopalonganinnatepattern:Thetransitionfromfemininetomasculine
societyoccurswiththeriseofmasculineideologiesandthoughtsystemsandwiththetransition
fromhuntergatheringtoasettledlifestyle.


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WorksCited
Bentley,Jerry.
TraditionsandEncounters
.N.p.:Glencoe/McGrawHillSchoolPub,2011.Print.
Thistext,likeBulliets,offersanalternativeperspectiveonAztecsociety,onethat
strictlydefinesAztecgenderrolesandunderestimatestherolewomenhad.Itallowed
metodeterminewhichaspectsofAztecsocietyaredeemedmostimportantbymost
textbooks.
Bulliet,RichardW.
TheEarthandItsPeoplesAGlobalHistory
.N.p.:WadsworthPub,2010.
Print.ThesametextbookIusednotbutfouryearsagoinhighschool,
TheEarthand
itsPeoples
offerssubstantialinsightintotohowAztecsocietytreatedwomen.
Interestingly,whilenotevenmentioningAksumsociety,Bullietseemstodevotemore
coveragetoAztecsocietythanLockard.Regardless,LockardandBullietmakethe
sameoverallpointsaboutAztecsociety.Bullietemphasizestheinfluencewomenhad
farmorethough.
Lockard,CraigA.
Societies,NetworksandTransitions.aGlobalHistory
.Boston,MA:
HoughtonMifflin,2008.Print.Muchofmyoverallknowledgeisgatheredfrom
lectureandparticularlythisbook.Thereforeonlydirectquoteswerecitedastoavoid
redundancy.LockardwastheonlytextbookauthortoevenmentionAksuminhis
narrative.Heofferedthemost"balanced"viewofgenderrelationsinAztecsociety.
Negash,Tekeste."Distressed,YetConfident,EthiopiaEnterstheThirdMillennium."
InternationalJournalofEthiopianStudies
3.2(2008):121.
JSTOR
.Web.30Nov.
2014.
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/27828889?ref=noxroute:efcaa647d07ff2bb139


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6a91528f36410>.ThispoliticalsciencearticletacklescontemporaryEthiopian
society.Butindoingso,theauthordiscussesAksumenoughtoshedlightonhow
contemporaryEthiopiacametobe.
Stockett,MirandaK."OntheImportanceofDifference:ReEnvisioningSexandGenderin
AncientMesoamerica."
WorldArchaeology
37.4,Debatesin"WorldArchaeology"
(2005):56678.
JSTOR
.Web.30Nov.2014.
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/40025092?ref=noxroute:c41793ed4ba36d8e4d
3ea427be14b210>.ThisresearcharticlefocuseditsattentiononMesoamerica,arguing
withgreatvigorthefutilityofexplainingMesoamericansocietywithgeneralized
descriptorsordevelopmentalnorms.Indoingso,thearticlediscussedAztecgender
relationsingreatdetail.

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